We are moving into a new house this week, and are considering transitioning my almost 2 year old to a twin bed. (mattress on the floor) My first question is, should we do it now, or wait until we've been there awhile. And second, HOW DO YOU DO IT??? lol. 95% of the time he goes to bed in his crib no problem. Sometimes we have to go back in to retrieve a blankie, or he fusses for about 10 minutes or so. But I have no clue on how to start this process. I can almost guaruntee theres no way he's going to lay on that bed and go to sleep when he can escape lol. And at this new house his room is on the second floor, close to a staircase. I am very apprehensive about this process, but know the time is fastly approaching. How do you transition from a secure crib, to wide open escapable bed?? Thanks moms :)
So far I think keeping him in his crib is the best move. I have only seen him try to lift his leg up once, he doesnt try to climb out so I guess I will let it be for now!! Thanks everyone so far :) I thought for whatever reason I should get ready for the transition, but I guess not!
You're right. I acn almost guarantee that it will be a nightmare. It is more often that way than not.
Keep him in his crib until he's 3 or until he is climbing out. Don't rush this.
Enough other things are changing. Leave his crib the same for another year.
Our pediatrician's advice on transitioning a child out of a crib is to do it only when the crib is no longer a safe environment. If he's not trying to climb out of it, keep him in there.
Having a child in a bed instead is a nightmare. You can't contain them, they are much more needy, and the environment of a new home will most certainly make it a much more difficult transition than if you wait.
If you don't have to transition him now, then why rush it? My feeling has always been "if it's not broke, don't fix it". My almost 4-year-old was in her crib until well after she was 3, partly because she never tried to climb out so we knew she couldn't get hurt. We didn't transition her until it was time to start night time potty training.
Good luck!
I would suggest keeping him in his crib for about 2-3 months after moving in to the new house. Too much change at once might have negative impact on him. Best of Luck!!!!
Do not change anything until he has transitioned well into his new home.
Wait until you have been there awhile. Too many transitions at once are not a good idea. He needs to get use to the new house first. We just made this transition a few months ago because I have another on the way and always set my goals earlier than I need to accomplish them. It took my son nearly 2 months to finally settle in a big boy bed. He was up all the time, playing during naps, etc until we finally figured out how to solve the problem. Every child is different, some may take just a few days to transition. Once you are settled in your house, I say a month, start talking about the big boy bed and see how they respond. I kept asking my 2 year old and he kept saying he wasn't ready yet. Finally, one day he said he was so we made the switch. Since you have stairs nearby, when they are napping or sleeping, keep the door closed or have a gate up. We have a doorknob protector on so he cannot get out on his own. Good luck!
Chances are good the move will stress him out a little bit and he'll likely be considerably more difficult to put to sleep in the new house than he is now. I would hold off on the crib to bed transition.
When I switched my daughter I had a crib that converted to a toddler bed basically by taking the movable side off the crib and putting on a solid side panel. Since it sounds like you're intent on moving straight to a regular bed, starting on the floor is a good idea. I would almost suggest you leave the crib in the room if you can and try getting him to sleep on the mattress for naps only. If you make the transition more gradual it will be easier. That and you will be there if he decides to make the great escape. Once you know he can handle it for naps then remove the crib and make the switch completely.
If you need to make the switch more of a cold turkey idea where the crib just disappears, I would be prepared to change your night time/nap time routine to one that allows you to spend a little more time with him making him drowsy so that he falls asleep. It's unlikely you'll be able to put him down awake with this new found freedom.
Also begin to enforce some new rules for safety. Either use a baby gate to keep him in his room so he's not roaming the house or enforce some rules over where he can go if he gets up and out. Personally I just told my daughter she had to stay in her room until I told her she could come out. If it's not framed as punishment then it's possible to do it and not make it feel like a giant time out.
Hope that helps.
My first two girls were big time movers in the crib. They often woke themselves up when they would turn in circles as the slept and get stuck when turned sideways. As a result, I had to move both of them into big beds (full size) at 18 months. I never thought twice about it. I did get a railing for each side of the bed just in case (relatively inexpensive). My first had the railings off by two. My second is a little over 3 y/o and we still have a railing up on one side. As far as getting out of bed, neither of my girls really did in the beginning, they just called for mom or dad. And when they did, there was a hallway night light just in case, but never a problem. And our bedroom is downstairs and theirs is upstairs. Why even do a mattress on the floor? Good luck!
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My first two girls were big time movers in the crib. They would often wake themselves up when they would turn in circles as they slept and get stuck when turned sideways. As a result, I had to move both of them into big beds (full size) at 18 months. I never thought twice about it. I did get a railing for each side of the bed just in case (relatively inexpensive). My first had the railings off by two. My second is a little over 3 y/o and we still have a railing up on one side. As far as getting out of bed, neither of my girls really did in the beginning, they just called for mom or dad. And when they did, there was a hallway night light just in case, but never a problem. And our bedroom is downstairs and theirs is upstairs. Why even do a mattress on the floor? Good luck!
If it were me, I'd wait a few months if possible. I like to introduce one new thing at a time. If he is climbing out, that is a different story.
